The present invention relates to a method for the attachment of a fastener element to a component, for example a sheet metal part, wherein the fastener element has an axis of symmetry, a head part having a contact surface which enters into contact with the component, a fastening section having a thread and also at least one undercut which receives the material of the component, and wherein the material of the component is pressed against the contact surface and into the undercut by means of a first tool having a die button shape matching the design of the fastener element.
A method and an apparatus of the initially named kind are extremely well-known in the field of attachment of the fastener elements to sheet metal parts. For example the European patents 0 678 679 and 0 958 100 describe how a fastener element which is available in commerce under the designation EBF from the company Profil Verbindungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG can be attached to a sheet metal part. Furthermore, the European patents 0 759 510 and 0 957 273 describe how variants of the so-called nut elements of the company Profil Verbindungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG can be attached to sheet metal parts. The above-described elements are frequently termed press-in elements because they do not have any rivet section which has to be beaded over.
In order to carry out the previously known methods presses with considerable pressing forces are mainly used which take care of the attachment of the fastener element to the sheet metal parts and indeed in particular when the sheet metal part is also to be given a specific shape in the press.
Not only elements of the company Profil Verbindungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG are attached to sheet metal parts in this way and means but rather also a series of further fastener elements from other competitors. It is also known, instead of using a press for the attachment of the fastener elements, to secure these in C-frames and/or by means of robots to sheet metal parts and in both cases corresponding force-generating devices must be present which often have to produce forces in tons in two figures.
Using such apparatuses the fastener elements are attached in one stroke to the sheet metal part, the process thus takes place relatively quickly.
There are, however, a large number of possible applications in smaller and larger workshops, for example for the manufacture of smaller series when no heavy presses or the other named devices (C-frames or robots) are available, either because the corresponding companies do not have such devices or because these are otherwise fully employed.